Seth Stohs

It's not good, but not sure it's any indication of that championship team. Something like 15 players from that team are still in Cedar Rapids. Rodriguez and Schobel and Rosario led the Kernels offense. They all moved up and they're doing fine. The Kernels made their championship run in the 2nd half when guys got called up from FM. MacLeod, Matthews, Culpepper, Morris are still in CR. Cory Lewis should join Wichita in the next couple of weeks. Kyle Jones had an emergency appendectomy this spring. They played a tough team early and bad luck. I'm not worried, but then again, I won't even think about minor league playoffs until about September.

#TeamProcess If you believe in your process, you don't think changing personnel after 17 bad games. Everyone wanted Popkins fired through about July last season, and then over the final 2-3 months, he got a lot of credit. Now 17 games later, he (and/or Hernandez, and/or Shomon). Royce has been out since Day 1. Julien's been Julien. Wallner started with a sophomore slump. That's not unusual. Kepler's been hurt pretty much since Day 1. Now Correa, who started out very well, is hurt. Jeffers is doing well. Kirilloff's been fine. They've had very little time with Santana. Castro turned back into Castro. Polanco is gone.

The Twins, Saints, Wind Surge and the Kernels all played afternoon games on Wednesday. The Kernels played two games. There are still plenty of individual performances that are exciting. See how Gabriel Gonzalez did today. Which Mussels hitter showed of his muscles on Wednesday. Which pitchers did well? Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez) The Twins aren't hitting. The Saints aren't hitting. The Wind Surge aren't hitting. Injuries have certainly hurt the Twins, and that trickles down. The Saints have already had to add several players via trade to attempt to field a competitive lineup. It has been a frustrating start to the season for many. Also of note... The Twins have played 17 of 162 games on the schedule. The Saints have been able to stay near .500. The Wind Surge have lost nine in a row, but there is a lot of season left. It's way too early to panic at any of these levels, especially not the big leagues. Current Win-Loss Records Minnesota Twins: 6-11 St. Paul Saints: 7-9 Wichita Wind Surge: 1-10 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 5-5 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 4-7 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS RHP Jack Noble was returned to Cedar Rapids from Wichita. He had spent about a week with the Wind Surge. RHP Ty Langenberg was placed on the Fort Myers Development List. Following their Wednesday afternoon game, the Saints announced the Twins signing of veteran utility man Tony Kemp. Read more about that move here. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Indianapolis 1 Box Score You can call this game what you want. The options include, but are not limited to: a.) a fantastic pitchers duel, b.) a game of missed opportunities and bad offense? The latter probably is correct from the Saints perspective. St. Paul had just three hits in the game, one each for Diego A. Castillo, Alex Isola and Dalton Shuffield. Shuffield hit a double, the lone extra base hit. Anthony Prato reached base three times on walks. When they got on base, the team stole four bases. Yet, they went scoreless because they were 0-for-11 with Runners in Scoring Position and left eight on base. Yet, the Saints pitchers did well. David Festa made the start and struck out five batters over four scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits and walked two batters. Diego Castillo came in and got four outs. He gave up one hit in the sixth inning and was replaced by Scott Blewett who got the final two outs of that inning. Jorge Alcala struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked two batters. Ryan Jenson came in for the ninth inning and gave up the game’s lone run on two hits and a walk. The game itself lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes… Before it began, the teams had to wait out a 62-minute rain delay. And the good news? On Thursday, they get to face Pirates top pitching prospect and the #2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Paul Skenes. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Tulsa 2 (11 innings) Box Score Despite playing two bonus innings, there was another low scoring game in Wichita on Wednesday afternoon. Down 1-0, the Wind Surge scored in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kyler Fedko singled to score Kala’i Rosario to tie the game. The game remained scoreless until the top of the 11th inning when Tulsa took the 2-1 lead and then held on in the bottom of the inning to win the game. Solid pitching for the Wind Surge in this one. Jarret Whorff started and gave up one run on two hits over four innings. He had just one strikeout to go with five walks and two hit batters. Effectively wild, right? Hunter McMahon came on and settled things down. He tossed three scoreless innings and allowed only a walk. Jared Solomon struck out three batters over two innings of scoreless, hitless ball. John Stankiewicz was given the unenviable task of working in extra innings. He got out of the 10th inning without the Manfred Man scoring, but gave up the unearned run in the 11th. The pitchers got themselves into trouble with the walks and hit batters, but Tulsa went just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. Not good, but wait until you read the next paragraph. The Wind Surge found their way on base throughout this game. They had eight hits and walked another six times. However, they went just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. Kala’i Rosario went 1-for-2 and walked three times. Jorel Ortega was 1-for-3 and walked twice. Ben Ross was the lone Surge hitter with two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Rain pushed the start of this week’s six game series between the Twins and Brewers’ Triple-A squads back a day. Weather was a bit better on Wednesday. An afternoon game was on the schedule, so they turned it into a doubleheader. The Kernels got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third. Nate Baez scored on a balk for the first run. Then Willie Joe Garry Jr scored on a groundout. The TimberRattlers scored twice in the bottom of the inning to tie it at two. A Jay Harry double in the top of the fourth inning scored Danny De Andrade to put Cedar Rapids in the lead. However, a Luis Lara RBI single was soon followed by a two-run Luke Adams home run, and Wisconsin was in the lead at 5-3. That was about it for the offenses and the game ended after seven innings at that same score. Andrew Morris made the start and was charged with five runs on 10 hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Jacob Wosinski got the final out of the fourth and pitched a scoreless fifth frame. Juan Mendez pitched a scoreless sixth. A highlight of the game was Gabriel Gonzalez showing off his arm and throwing out a runner at the plate. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 2 Box Score The Kernels bats did arrive later in the afternoon. In the second inning of the second game, they scored three runs. Keoni Cavaco put them on the scoreboard with an RBI double scoring Agustin Ruiz. Gabriel Gonzalez came through with a two-run double to give them a three-spot in the inning. Jump ahead to the fourth inning. With the bases loaded. Rubel Cespedes hit a double that scored Dillon Tatum and Luke Keaschall. A Jose Salas single drove in Gonzalez from third base. Cespedes scored on a ground out by Misael Urbina. At that point, the Kernels had a fairly comfortable 7-2 lead. Cespedes add another RBI double in the sixth inning to drive in Gonzalez with the team’s eighth and final run. Zebby Matthews was on the mound and worked the first five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He struck out four batters and walked his usual… zero. Kyle Bischoff came on and struck out three batters over two one-hit innings. Gonzalez went 3-for-3 with a walk and two doubles in this game, pretty much his breakout game with his new organization. Cespedes went 2-for-3 with a walk and his two doubles. With three RBI, he is already at 14 for the season. Agustin Ruiz had a double and a walk in the game. Dillon Tatum went 2-for-3 with a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Jupiter 4 Box Score Gregory Duran attempted to power the Mussels to a win. Angel Del Rosario attempted to use his speed to help his team. Unfortunately on this night, it wasn’t quite enough as Fort Myers lost a one-run decision at Hammond Stadium. Ross Dunn made the start for Fort Myers on Wednesday night. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Nolan Santos came on and gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk over two innings. Julio Bonilla struck out two batters over two innings in his Mussel debut. He was a hit batter from two perfect innings. Duran went 2-for-4 with a triple, and a three-run home run. Angel Del Rosario went 1-for-3 with a walk and four stolen bases. He already has nine on the season. Rayne Doncon went 2-for-5 with his fourth double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-6, BB, 2-2B, Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, IBB, 2 K #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-3, RBI, Game 2: 3-for-3, BB, 2-2B(3), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB. #6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 KJ, 57 pitches, 39 strikes (68.4%) #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, great catch! (played CF) #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2K. #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-4, SB(6), Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, R, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 3 BB, R, #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-2, HBP, 2B(2), R, Game 2: 0-for-4, 2 K #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K, SB(1) #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-3 (catcher), Game 2: DNP. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Joe Gunkel (0-1, 7.27 ERA) vs Paul Skenes!! Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-1, 7.04 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Cedar Rapids (6:40 PM CST) - RHP John Klein (0-0, 1.13 ERA) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - Jeremy Lee (1-1, 2.08 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

And Prato got spiked and was unavailable to play on Saturday.

He was signed out of the independent Frontier League... Getting to AA already makes him a huge success. I'd say he compares most to Adam Brett Walker, though without quite as much athleticism or track record. But his is what I love about player development... you just never know. Maybe something clicks at 26 and he becomes a 30 homer guy for 4-5 years. That'd be huge, and incredibly unlikely.

Find out what all happened through the Twins minor-league system on Saturday. There were lots of transactions. All four affiliates played. E-Rod kept crushing Double-A. Keirsey had a huge game for St. Paul. Cespedes keep hitting Midwest League. And Charlee Soto was fantastic, dominant! Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily It's been a fun week-plus away from home. I was at the Twins home opener. Then I went to the Kernels home opener and two more games in Cedar Rapids. And on Saturday, I enjoyed the day CHS Field watching a Saints game. I still need to get to Wichita. I've been saying that for three years or more. But now, the trek home. It's been busy. It's been fun. I've got photos of a lot of Kernels and some Saints. Minor League Baseball is the best! RECORDS Minnesota Twins: 6-7 St. Paul Saints: 6-7 Wichita Wind Surge: 1-7 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 3-4 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 4-4 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS A couple of situations occurred that forced another busy day on the Twins transaction wire. The Thursday rain out created a doubleheader on Saturday. The Twins called up Simeon Woods Richardson as the 27th man. As you likely know by now, that was a good decision. Woods Richardson earned his first MLB win with six strong innings in Detroit. As per the rules, he was sent back to St. Paul after the game. The other unfortunate event was the Carlos Correa oblique injury. He was placed on the 10-day injured list. Taking his spot was catcher Jair Camargo. Additionally, the Twins DFAd Michael Tonkin and called up fellow reliever Matt Bowman. As I was thinking about which player could replace Correa on the roster, I thought that Michael Helman might make a lot of sense due to his versatility. Unfortunately, he injured his hamstring and was placed on the Saints 7-Day IL. Dalton Shuffield was promoted from the Wichita development list to the Saints. Outfielder Gregory Duran was promoted to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from the Florida Complex. On Sunday morning, the Twins activated LHP Caleb Thielbar and options RHP Jorge Alcala to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Iowa 4 Box Score Burnsville native and former Minnesota State-Mankato alum Aaron Rozek began the season with Wichita but before even making an appearance. On Saturday afternoon, he took Simeon Wood Richardson’s rotation spot and made his first start of the season. The southpaw battled through three innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits, a walk and two hit batters. The big hit was a two-run homer by first baseman Matt Mervis. The Saints started to claw back in the fifth inning. DaShawn Keirsey launched a two-run home run into the Twins bullpen in left center. Keirsey said, “I thought there was a chance, but I saw Pete Crow getting close and timing a jump. At that point, I was thinking Please, please go. It eventually did and that was a great feeling.” An inning later, Chris Williams hit a hustle double, showing off his speed as he slid safely into second base. That brought Alex Isola to the plate. He took a fastball near the outside corner and lined it just inside the right field line for an RBI double to tie the game at three. That is how the score remained until the top of the eighth. With Darius Hill on base, Chase Strumpf lined a single to center to drive in what proved to be the winning run Strumpf, who was the shortstop at JSerra High School during Royce Lewis’s first couple of years of varsity baseball. DaShawn Keirsey led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and the home run. Asked what he feels he needs to do to make one more jump into the big leagues; “I think it’s just staying true to myself, not trying to do too much or be something I’m not. Just go out there and play the game I play. I think everything at that point will take care of itself.” Ryan Jenson came in after Rozek and tossed 2 2/3 scoreless, one-hit innings against his former team and many former teammates. He had two walks and six strikeouts. Scott Blewett took the loss, but he pitched well. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up only an unearned run. He had five strikeouts. Diego Castillo pitched a scoreless ninth inning. On the weekends in Triple-A, they do the ABS Challenge system, which I really like. If a batter, catcher or pitcher question a call (usually by tapping their helmet). I was told in Friday night’s game only one pitch was challenged. On Saturday afternoon, there were 13 pitches challenged. Once, three consecutive pitches were challenged. However, the review is so quick that is hardly slows down the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 5 Box Score The Cardinals affiliate jumped out to a 4-1 lead off the first inning. The Wind Surge tried to claw back but came up short. Pierson Ohl made the start on the mound. He was credited with those four first-inning runs. He gave up two, two-run homers. But then he settled in and threw four zeroes on the board. Jack Nobel, who came up to Double-A earlier in the week, gave up one run over his three innings. Ben Ross got the game’s scoring started in the top of the first inning. Eight of nine starters had on hit. Kala’i Rosario, Jake Rucker, and Alerick Soularie each hit a double in the game. Emmanuel Rodriguez stayed on fire. He went 1-for- 3 and added his fourth homer of the young season. He also walked twice. Through his first eight games of the season, he is hitting a cool .385 with an on-base percentage of .556, and an OPS of 1.594. All incredible numbers. Of his 10 hits, he has three doubles, a triple and four home runs. He also has nine RBI. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Dayton 5 Box Score It was back-and-forth game in Cedar Rapids, but a four-run fourth inning was the differentiator in this one. Rubel Cespedes continued to make a strong early impression. He went 2-for-5 including his third home run of the season. Jay Harry had two doubles in the game. MIsael Urbina was 2-for-4 with a double. Gabriel Gonzalez also had to hits. Luke Keaschall went hitless, but he walked three times. Keoni Cavaco launched his first home of the season. Christian MacLeod made his first start of the season. Unfortunately, after two innings, he had to leave the game before the third inning began. He had been working on a blister before the game, and it popped on him before the start of the third frame. He should be good to go. Miguelangel Boadas came in and worked three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had just one strikeout. Juan Mendez worked an inning and gave up one run on three hits, though he did strike out three batters. Ricardo Velez gave up two runs on two hits over two innings. Kyle Bischoff came in for the ninth and recorded the save. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Clearwater 0 Box Score I’m not certain a coach could draw up a more-perfect win for his team. While the end score makes it look like a blowout, this was a highly competitive game through at least six innings. The Mussels got on the board in the third inning thanks to an RBI double from Byron Chourio. They got single runs in the fifth and sixth innings on sacrifice flies from Rayne Doncon and Maddux Houghton. In the seventh inning, Brandon Winokur hit another sacrifice fly, but they added a second run on a Poncho Ruiz RBI single. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-4 in his rehab outing, but he played the full game in right field. He hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Finally, in the top of the ninth, the Mussels scored four more runs. Rafael Cruz hit an RBI double. Houghton tripled to score two more runs. T game started with an RBI double from Byron Chouio, and a second double from Chourio scored the 10th and final run of the game. On the mound, Charlee Soto looked more comfortable in this one and the results showed. He threw four scoreless, hitless innings for the Mussels. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Tanner Hall, Xander Hamilton and Kade Bragg combined for five shutout innings and seven struck outs. Poncho Ruiz had a 4-for-5 day at the plate. Maddux Houston went 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs and three RBI. Byron Chourio had two doubles, a single and a stolen base. Rafael Cruz had two hits including a double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Keirsey, Jr (Saints) - 2-for-3, HR(1), 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB(6). Pitcher of the Day – Charlee Soto (Mussels) - 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, HR(4), 2 K #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-5, R, RBI #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - Game 1 (2-for-2, BB, K, 2 R, 2 RBI, played CF-2B), Game 2 (1-for-4, R, played LF) #9 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. 49 pitches, 33 strikes. #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – (0-for-3, BB, K (played SS) #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 3 SB. #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B, 2 K. #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, BB, 3 K (played 1B #20 - Siemon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 80 pitches, 53 strikes. SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP Caleb Boushley (1-1, 7.84 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (1:05 PM CST) - RHP A.J. Alexy (0-1, 13.50 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (First Start) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) - Paulshawn Pasqualotto (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

They've just done a really nice job of drafting pitchers in the 5th -20th rounds in the drafts, at least going back to Ober in 2017, Funderburk in 2018, Varland in 2019, Festa and Ohl in 2021. Lewis, Culpepper, Morris, Jones, and others in 2022. And I hear really good things about 2023 guys like Paulshawn Pasqualotto, Ty Langenburg, and a few others. They've done a nice job of taking something in each and building upon it. Whether they are starters or become relievers, if they get to the big leagues, it's a huge success for Player Development. In reality, if they get to Triple-A, it's a success.

I asked Dinkelman after the game yesterday. He's played 1B and 3B in the two games I've been at. Not sure he's really had to make plays in either game. Dinkelman saw him in spring training and feels comfortable with him in either spot. My observation from pregame is that he's definitely athletic enough to play 3B, and he has a very strong arm. Dinkelman must have hit him 30-40 extra ground balls during BP and he looked fine. He looks fine at first too, but it's hard to see how that translates.

He is set to start on Sunday (vs Rhett Lowder) for the Kernels. Talked to him a bit yesterday. He needed a few days in his buildup, so his season starts a week later. Nothing to worry about. Same thing, I understand, with Cory Lewis in Wichita. Fell a little behind (weather it was soreness, missed a few days, whatever the reason) this spring and they aren't rushing him.

I was just going by the scoreboard. I actually didn't see anything lower than 95 on there, but first start, early season, I figure it may drop a little bit over the season, over a few starts. But, impressive nonetheless. Also, Calvin (radio/streaming voice of Kernels) has access to statcast data instantly, so what he's saying is based on that, not the scoreboard.

The reason is because there is a second article. As the note says by the Players of the Day header, the Kernels will get their own. Article just published.

The Kernels showed off their bats and their pitching on Wednesday night to record their first win of the young season. There were several interesting aspects to the game that it warranted its own article. Seth is in Iowa covering the Kernels for a couple of days and filed the following. So, be sure to read this in conjunction with the regular minor-league report today. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily If you’re looking for the rest of today’s minor league report, click here. However, the Kernels first win of the season provided lots of postgame conversation, and I thought enough to add this Kernels report separately. Click here for the remainder of today's minor league report. First, just a reminder that Cedar Rapids is around four to five hours from the Twin Cities, depending upon your starting point. It’s a pretty quick drive. If you haven’t previously attended a Kernels game, consider it. It’s a fun atmosphere. It is some quality baseball. You can see several future Twins. Of note, since the Kernels became an affiliate of the Twins in 2013, 75 former Kernels have reached the big leagues. You truly are seeing (at least part of) the Twins future. I also recommend Haciendo, Nachos and Spanish Rice!! And, if you’re there on a nice night, head down the left field line and get a frozen hot chocolate from Toms (Frozen Treats, maybe. I don’t remember the full name, but you’ll find it!). The Kernels came into Wednesday night’s game against Dayton having started the season with two losses in Beloit, a loss for their home opener, and really wanted to get the first win. A really solid combination of hitting and pitching (and an all-important mound visit) helped the team to their first win of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Dayton 2 Box Score The Kernels got a clutch start from Zebby Matthews, and Rubel Cespedes led an impressive offensive display on their way to an impressive win over the loaded Dayton lineup. We have to start with Rubel Cespedes. In the first inning, he drove in Ricardo Olivar with a single. He did the exact same thing in the third inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, he crushed a long, three-run homer that scored Olivar and Danny De Andrade. In the bottom of the eighth, he came up one more time and drove in Luke Keaschall and Olivar on a single to right field. On the day, he went 4-for-5 with his second homer and seven RBI. His season line currently shows a .636 batting average with a 1.940 OPS. After the game, he said (via translator and co-pitching coach AJ Angulo), “We have a plan. We work in the cage, and we’ve executed the plan in the game. That’s why I’m getting good results.” Regarding the three-run blast, Cespedes noted, “I’m just looking for the ball and reacting to it. I’m executing the plan. I’m sticking to the plan and executing my plan.” He came to the plate with runners in scoring position in four at-bats and came through each time. “Same mentality. It fires me up, having runners on, so I can help the team win. At the end of the day, if we keep bringing runs in, we will have success and we’re going to win ball games.” data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== His manager Brian Dinkelman, who once had a four-hit game in the big leagues, said, “Four-hit games are hard to come by and to have a three-run homer on top of it also. Really good game from Cespy tonight. He’s been swinging the bat really well the first four games already.” Dinkelman moved Cespedes from the seven spot on Tuesday night to the five-spot in the lineup on Wednesday night. “You kind of play around with the lineup a little bit and see what blends well. He's been swinging the bat as well as anybody so try to get him more toward the top of the lineup, get his at-bats, hopefully with runners on base, and it paid off tonight.” On his first post-teen day, the now-20-year-old Danny De Andrade went 3-for-4. Following Tuesday’s game, the manager said that most days he will find himself somewhere in the middle of the Kernels’ lineup. I asked him if he plans on playing him at shortstop everyday too. The response? “He’s going to play the majority of his games at shortstop, but I think we’re going to try to get him some action at second and third also. You never know. You get to the big leagues and they already have someone there that’s the everyday shortstop. We want you to go play second base. I think it’s good in the minor leagues to get some exposure to different positions, just so you have some awareness and understanding of each position. If you do make the big leagues, you’re not caught off guard having not played there before and not know what to do. This is the time for them to learn other positions too in case that opportunities comes.” Olivar went 2-for-3 with two walks and a double. He scored four runs. And, he did a nice job in left field on Wednesday after playing behind the plate on Tuesday. Luke Keaschall was robbed of a hit in his first at-bat on a bad call at first base. However, he ended the night 2-for-4 with a walk. Dinkelman says he “has a good approach at the plate. Good understanding of the strike zone. Has some thump in his bat when he gets into a ball. He can run. Defensively, he’ll continue to work at second base, throwing and stuff like that.” Keoni Cavaco had a single and a double in four at-bats. I told him before the game that I felt a three-hit game for him. When we reconvened after the game, we both agreed that two hits was just fine on this night. Zebby Matthews was Terrific on the Mound It may not be evident from the final score, but this was a really tightly contested ballgame until the Kernels scored five runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth frame. Zebby Matthews took the mound for his first start of the season and looked really good. Let’s start with the stat line. Over five innings, he gave up just one run on four hits. He walked none and struck out eight batters. If that’s all I wrote, the report would be very positive. His catcher, Nate Baez, said, “Zebby is really good at just pounding the zone and attacking hitters. We just stuck with our plan and trusted what he had and his stuff. It was just working today.” Next, let's look at the scouting report. Matthews is known for filling the strike zone, not walking anyone. When drafted, he was touching 90, maybe 91 on occasion. On this night, he was sitting 93-96, and he hit 97 mph a couple of times. And, he has done that without losing control or command of the strike zone. His secondary stuff looked really good as well and he got a lot of swings and misses. This year, he also is throwing a cutter with higher vertical break in the 90-92 range. He is going with a more-traditional slider (as opposed to the sweeper). He's got a changeup that is thrown in the low-80s to keep hitters off balance. And, he's got a nice curveball that he continues to work on to try to throw it a little harder. Matthews said that adding velocity has been a goal, something he has worked hard to do. “It’s a part of the process. I think every pitcher wants to throw harder. I give props to the coaches and all of the player development staff. They do a really good job of keeping us, giving us goals to reach. They do a really good job of helping us get there.” Dinkelman noted, “Last year, we put him in the ‘pen at the end of the season. He was 94, 96, whatever. Throws strikes, and he got some swing-and-miss tonight with eight strikeouts. It was a good outing for him.” One Fantastic Mound Visit One more piece to the Zebby Matthews “puzzle” on this evening isn’t necessarily something that’s measurable, but you sure do notice when you see it. In the fourth inning, the Kernels held a 2-0 lead with one out. Suddenly, Dayton knocked three straight singles. Was their vaunted lineup about to put up a crooked number? Co-pitching coach Jonas Lovin and catcher Nate Baez walked out to the mound. It was a fairly extended trip to the mound, but when Lovin got back to the dugout, and Baez returned to the plate, Matthews had found a new level. He proceeded to strike out the next two batters, leaving two runners stranded. His competitive nature showed up and he played the role of bulldog. Baez said, “We just slowed him down a bit, let him catch his breath, and then just had him stick with his plan.” Matthews said, “It just gave me a breather. I had given up three singles in a row. With that many consecutive at-bats, they gave me a breather, helped me re-focus. Reminded me to stick to the game plan.” Lovin added a little more detail to the conversation. “I told him I love that he works fast, but in this situation, take a second to catch your breath because he looked rushed. And, then I gave him the scouting report on the next two hitters, and he did the rest.” Dinkelman summarized, “That was a big swing in the game to keep us ahead after they got three straight runners on. Good job by Zebby to get us through five innings.” Matthews came back out for the fifth and had a perfect inning. He had two strikeouts, and his night ended with a web gem from left fielder Ricardo Olivar. Matthews noted, “The only thing I want to do is go deep into starts and give my team a chance to win. I just go out there and do my job” You can see all eight strikeouts and Olivar’s catch here: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== AJ Labas came in. He was charged with an unearned run over 1 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Then Ricardo Velez entered the game. He gave up a couple of hits, but no runs. He struck out three batters. Miguelangel Boadas struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth. ‘ The Kernels pitching staff finished the night with 16 strikeouts and they didn’t walk a single batter. While this type of result is always the goal, it isn't normal. Lovin added, "Control and command is a massive part of our minor-league development. Punch guys out, limit damage, and don't give free passes. Throw nasty stuff in the zone." Of course, that's easier said than done. Dinkelman was clearly happy after the game to have that first Win. “Like hitters, you always want to get that first hit and settle in and get going. We’ve had that with a lot of guys. I think, hopefully now, everybody settles in and feels better about themselves and continue that going forward.” Please feel free to ask questions about the Kernels and their roster. I've seen two games now, so the sample size is quite small. However, first impressions are sometimes interesting. I will be at Thursday night's Kernels' game before leaving Cedar Rapids. View full article

The Mighty Mussels made a valiant comeback only to give up their lead late. The Saints fell to a veteran starter who is off to a great start and a power-hitting rehabber. Wichita got rained out. Here is the primary Minor League Report for Wednesday. There will be a Kernels-only report as well, filled with quotes after their first win of the season. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Maddux Houghton going through the line on Opening Day). Please note that today's Minor League Report is actually split into two reports. Below, you will find most of the information you would expect. However, since I am in Cedar Rapids, and the Kernels won their first game, and there is a lot to write about that game, I am going to do a separate Kernels report. Please check that out. It will be available soon. We are still incredibly early in the season. Over the rest of the week, there will be several pitchers making their first starts of the season for their Twins’ affiliate, but there are already lots of storylines to follow. While we don’t really have any reason to look at the standings for a couple of months, I’ll include it anyway. Minnesota Twins: 4-6 St. Paul Saints: 5-5 Wichita Wind Surge: 1-3 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 1-3 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 3-2 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Wichita placed RHP Cody Laweryson on the 7-Day Injured List. In a surprise move, RHP Jace Stoffal, the team’s eighth-round pick in 2023 from Oregon, officially retired on Tuesday. In recent days, catchers Duncan Hewitt and Frank Nigro were released by the Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Iowa 4 Box Score 29-year-old lefty Thomas Pannone made his third start of the season for the Iowa Cubs. In his first start, he gave up two hits over five scoreless innings. In his second start, he gave up two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. So maybe the Saints shouldn’t feel too bad about scoring just one run on three hits and two walks against Pannone. Powerful Patrick Wisdom provided the offense the Cubs’ needed to take down the Saints. Wisdom hit a deep fly ball to right-center field that landed beyond the fence. Jake Slaughter and Ali Sanchez scored in front of the rehabbing-big leaguer. Wisdom is currently on the Cubs’ Injured List. Over the past three years with Chicago, he has hit a combined 76 home runs. Until that point, Randy Dobnak was very good again. However, his final line shows three runs allowed on five hits. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Matt Bowman struck out three batters over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Diego Castillo came on and gave up one run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings. He gave up a solo home to Cubs powerful outfield prospect Alexander Canario. Ryan Jensen came in for the ninth inning and struck out three batters. The Saints had just six hits in the game. Chris Williams led the way with two hits including his second double. Michael Helman hit his first double of the season. Helman scored the team’s lone run in the sixth inning on a Yunior Severino single. The game began 32 minutes late due to a rain delay, but it finished in two hours and 43 minutes. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita, Springfield (Postponed) Box Score The game was postponed due to inclement weather. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Dayton 2 Box Score It was a terrific night in Cedar Rapids for the Kernels. The bats showed up. The pitching was fantastic. I talked to quite a few people. So, I decided to create a separate article for the Kernels report. Be sure to check that out right here. Lots of quotes from the likes of Brian Dinkelman, Zebby Matthews, Rubel Cespedes, Nate Baez, and more. Click here for the Kernels Report: Rubel Cespedes and Zebby Matthews Lead Kernels to Season's First Win. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Clearwater 8 Box Score It was a back-and-forth game in Clearwater on Wednesday night. The Threshers grabbed two in the bottom of the third. The Mussels responded with one in the fourth. Clearwater added three in the bottom of the fifth frame. All five runs were charged to starting pitcher Ty Langenberg. The 2023 draft pick from the University of Iowa gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked none but struck out, you guessed it, five batters. Spending the past couple of days in Cedar Rapids, there are some Kernels fans who are eager to see Langenberg move up to High-A. I would suspect it won’t take more than about a half-season. Lefty Wilker Reyes came on and struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. That allowed the Mussels to show off their muscles. Maddux Houghton’s first homer of the season drove in Yohander Martinez and Angel Del Rosario to cut the deficit to 5-4. With Byron Chourio on base, Brandon Winokur’s first home run put the Mussels ahead 6-5. The Mussels added another run in the eighth inning on a Houghton ground out. Up by two, Brian Meyer turned to Xander Hamilton for the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately, he gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in the inning. The Mussels went quietly in the top of the ninth. Eight of the nine Mussels hitters had at least one hit. Rayne Doncon went hitless, but he walked twice. Del Rosario and Houghton, the team’s eight and nine hitters in this game, each went 2-for-4. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY (The Kernels will get their own, though both awards would certainly belong to Kernels on a normal report.) Hitter of the Day – Maddux Houghton (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, HR(1), R, 4 RBI, Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Jensen (St. Paul) - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-5 #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-for-2, BB (played CF) #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, HR(1), 2 RBI, 3 K (played 3B) #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, 2B(1), BB, 2 R, RBI, 1 BB (DHd) #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 3-for-4, HBP, R, RBI, SB(1). #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K (played 3B) #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-3, 2B(1), 4 R, 2 BB, K (played LF) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (0-0, 1.59 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (First Start), facing Tink Hence. Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (First Start) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) - Ross Dunn (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Nope, didn't airmail either of them. You could argue on the third one that he just should have thrown it in to second base, but I thought he had a reasonable chance at getting the guy at third. The throw was down (cut-off man level), and it just got by the third baseman. I haven't seen a replay to see if maybe the runner deflected it.

From Dinkelman: "A couple were tough. The first one, on the throw in, it got away from the cutoff man and past the pitcher. That's a tough one. He kept the ball down. Dropped the fly ball, not sure what happened there. The last one kind of skipped by third. Decent throw to third and it skipped by Salas and the guy advanced a base. Tough night for him out there." He continued, "We'll keep putting him out there, let him learn from it. You learn from your experiences in the game, and hopefully he'll learn from tonight." My perspective... The two on throws were tough. I agree with Dinkelman on those. If you watch them, the throws were solid, but just not handled by the person they were thrown to. Those go to the thrower, even though the throw isn't bad. The dropped fly ball. My assumption is that he lost it right toward the end in the sun. I saw a photo later that shows he was there, looking right up at it, but had already closed the glove (but the ball was about a foot above it). He does have a really strong arm. Not saying he's a great outfielder, but I don't personally think there is a lot to worry about with this.

Did Zac Gallen pitch the next day? Did Randy Arozarena play in the outfield? Inquiring minds want to know... I want to know.

The Twins played their home opener at Target Field on Thursday afternoon. A couple of hours beforehand, Dick Bremer was honored for his 40 seasons of being the voice of the Twins on TV in a small ceremony in the press box. The Twins home television booth will forever be called the Dick Bremer TV Booth. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily Let’s start this with a little bit of trivia, courtesy of Dick Bremer himself. Over his 40 seasons of calling play-by-play for Twins games, he worked with five Hall of Famers (so far!). Can you name all five of them? (Answers below). During the offseason, we learned that Dick Bremer’s time as the Twins play-by-play voice on TV was over. Cory Provus would be taking over that role after more than a decade in the Twins radio booth. Twins President Dave St. Peter began a small ceremony by welcoming Bremer and his family; his wife, daughter Hannah and son Erik. “The Twins organization feels incredibly grateful for Dick. For not just what he did in the television booth, calling action night after night, day after day, but for the way he handled things out of the booth as an ambassador for this franchise. It’s hard to imagine there’s any broadcaster we have had that worked more tirelessly on behalf of the organization to preach the gospel of Twins baseball than Dick Bremer. And for that today we are really thrilled to have the opportunity to pay tribute and to honor him.” This offseason was the first that Bremer did not participate in the Twins winter caravan. He kept busy, to be sure. He had previously been the host of the Twins Diamond Awards. Instead of hosting the great event this year, he was honored with the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award. In my opinion, Bremer’s biggest strength as the play-by-play voice on TV was his ability to work with his color analyst. There is no bigger Twins fan. Bremer knows the history of the Twins. He understands the changes that have happened in the game. He understands game situations. But what he did was let the analyst play the role of “star.” Bremer set up his analysts very well and let them share their insights from their time on the field. As our trivia question says, Bremer worked with five Hall of Famers, He is arguably Tommy John’s biggest supporter for Hall of Fame consideration. He has worked with All Stars and many great players. In a small media scrum after the formal ceremony, he said “I’ll take that team of players that I was blessed to work with. I’ll take on the Rangers. I’ll beat the Yankees.” One of those players that he worked with the past couple of years is former AL MVP Justin Morneau. The powerful Canadian has become a very good, trusted analyst with the help of Bremer. Morneau held back tears as he spoke of and to Bremer during the ceremony. “You taught us what it meant to love our jobs, to take pride in doing our jobs, to be neutral but understand that we are all fans of the Twins. I don’t know if there is any bigger fan in Twins Territory than you.” It was at that time the St. Peter and Morneau unveiled a gift for his years of service and gnarly 5,000 games called. The Twins also made a contribution in Bremer’s name to “Dumont Baseball.” Finally, they announced that the TV booth would now be called the Dick Bremer Television Booth. Bremer then stood in front of the small crowd of TV cameras and media. His voice cracked as he said, “I really appreciate that gesture. To have that carry my name means an awful lot.” While you can see and hear how much he enjoyed calling the game. It is when he talks about his family that you realize how fortunate he realizes he is. His wife was there, as was his daughter Hannah. It was also great to see his son Erik was able to be there. Erik Bremer is carving his own path in the play-by-play world. He is the voice of the Pensacola Ice Flyers in the winter months, and he is in his third season as the voice of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Southern League. In college he worked games in the Cape Cod League. In 2017, he worked for the Biloxi Shuckers (AA). In 2018, he called games for Triple-A Colorado Springs. In 2019, he was out east with High-A Potomac. After the lost Covid season, he spent the 2021 season with Fredericksburg. He also spent a couple of winters calling Brisbane Bandits games in the Australian Baseball League. I joked with him about being allowed time off to come to this event. He said he wasn’t going to miss it. He also noted that he had a 5:00 am flight on Friday morning to get back to Pensacola for their Friday night Opening Day game. Since the announcement that his dad would no longer call Twins games on TV, he has been given example after example by fans and media types of what his dad meant. He said, “It’s affirming what I think most of us have known all along; the unique and special connection he has with the fans and this community and to baseball fans in the upper Midwest.” Are their characteristics of his dad’s broadcast style or personality that he has tried to emulate in his own career? “I grew up listening to him. So I think on a subconscious level I take a little bit after his style. But I think more than anything, his ability to meet the moment without making it about himself is something I’ve really admired and I’ve tried to carry forward. Serving the audience and serving the team above yourself is the way to find a long career in this industry. That he has been able to do this for 40 years with the same team speaks to his ability to do that.” Of course, Erik Bremer has a unique perspective on Dick Bremer. As his son, he gets to see him at home. However, Erik noted, “His on-air style is so welcoming and warm, and so natural. I can speak with authority on this. He is the same person off the air as he is on the air.” Interviewer (me) rudely cuts in, asking, “Same voice and everything?” And Erik smiles and continues, “Same voice and everything. The fact that he is so authentic… I think that is something that viewers sensed over the years. They got a sense that they knew him. If you’re not yourself on the air, eventually people are going to find out. So, the fact that he remained himself, resolute in that while still adapting to the changing times is something I really admire about him.” I think that rings true, especially if you’ve been near him during a winter caravan stop in a small town. People believe they know Dick Bremer because he has been a consistent, soothing voice that they can rely on. Another one of those great players that Bremer called a partner (among other things) is Bert Blyleven. Bremer noted that the Hall of Fame pitcher and World Series champion sent him a text message early Thursday that just said, “Congratulations, and don’t bounce it.” Bremer told media members after the ceremony that he will continue to be active with the Twins, though he doesn’t know just how much time he’ll be at the ballpark. He said it will depend on weather, and if a golf course beckons. He joked, “ I’ve been told that it’s possible in Minnesota without having to drill a hole first.” Bremer has not had a chance to do a lot of summer fishing over the years and looks forward to that. However, he also broke the news that he will be returning to the diamond, playing Senior Baseball League games on Wednesdays, and double-headers on Sunday afternoons. He says that most great players he worked with, like Killebrew, Blyleven and most recently Morneau had great playing careers and then great broadcasting careers. “I’m going to try to do it in reverse. I did my 40 years broadcasting, and now my goal is to be the oldest American League rookie of the year, at 68.” When he said he might pitch, a writer came back with “Then you can become the first broadcaster in history to have worked with Tommy John and then had the Tommy John surgery.” Ah, retirement goals. Which brings us back to Twins Opening Day. Bremer was honored pregame with a nice video on the huge screens of the stadium. He was then set to make the first pitch. With his family, and over 35,000 people watching, Bremer walked to the mound. Then to the surprise of many, Joe Mauer made his way to home plate. Bremer’s first pitch would be caught by Hall of Famer Joe Mauer. And with all the hoopla, and all the emotion of the day, Bremer stepped toward home and launched his pitch. I believe it was a sinker. I mean, gravity pushed it down as it made its way to the plate. It was a very borderline strike, but most important, Mauer caught it. Bremer did not bounce it. The Twins lost the game 4-2, and it’s very much possible that the highlight of Opening Day might have been that first pitch. Dick Bremer didn’t bounce it. Join me in a left-hand toast to Dick Bremer. Trivia Answer: I dropped several names and clues throughout the article, but Dick Bremer worked with five Hall of Famers. He worked with Harmon Killebrew, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Paul Molitor, and Jim Kaat. View full article

35,595 Twins fans entered Target Field on Thursday afternoon for the Minnesota Twins Opening Day. Game time temp was 48 degrees. There was some breeze, but the game was played under blue skies in a picturesque ballpark. Unfortunately, the Twins inability to come up with the key hit at a key time meant fans left the stadium feeling a little gloomy. Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez - 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (95 pitches, 60 strikes (63.1%), 12 whiffs) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (-0.198), Max Kepler (-0.170), Carlos Santana (-0.168) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pablo Efficient Early With four members of the Twins bullpen on the injured list, it becomes more important for the Twins starters to try to work a little deeper in the games. Through three innings, Lopez needed a total of just 31 pitches, a tremendous per-inning average. He threw just seven pitches in the third inning after tossing just six pitches in the second inning. Twins Watch Chances Pass Them By The Twins often force pitchers to throw a lot of pitches. Tanner Bibee had thrown 58 pitches. They had Bibee on the ropes in the bottom of the second inning. Christian Vazquez reached on an error by Brayan Rocchio to load the bases with two outs. That brought Edouard Julien to the plate.After working the count from 1-2 to 3-2, Julien watched a slider down the middle of the plate go by. He immediately turned and walked back to the dugout.Target Field was frustrated. Seventh inning… he struck out looking. Tanner Bibee had two strikeouts in the second inning and struck out the side in the third frame. Guardians Get Pesky in Fourth In the fourth inning, Cleveland did what Cleveland does. They put the ball in play, not necessarily hard, but in that situation, they hit ‘em where the Twins hitters weren’t. They scored three runs in that inning without really hitting anything hard at all. This is what makes a game like this one frustrating. We know the stats. In general, the Guardians offense isn’t as strong as the Twins. The power or nothing approach generally leads to more runs scored over the course of a season. But on the days when the Twins do nothing, and the other team BABIPs one inning, it’s hard to watch. The “Nothing” of All or Nothing Julien wasn’t the lone Twins hitter to have a frustrating day, though striking out looking three times, twice in big situations, just doesn’t look good. As you saw in the lead information, the Twins #3 and #4 hitters (Byron Buxton and Max Kepler) led the way at the bottom of the Win Probability Added day. The veterans combined to go 0-for-8 with five strikeouts (all swinging, and equally productive). The Twins team had 15 total strikeouts in the game. Julien, Buxton and Kepler had eight of them. Willi Castro and Carlos Santana each struck out twice as well. In his third AB, Julien swung at a 3-1 pitch from Bibee and hit it into the left field bleachers. Correa is on Fire On the bright side, Carlos Correa is absolutely on fire. He lined a single to right at 98 mph in his first plate appearance. Next, he lined a 109 mph single to left. Later, he short-hopped the fence in left field on another drive well over 100 mph. With three hits on Thursday, he is now hitting .368 with a .994 OPS. I would guess that having no pain in his feet is quite helpful. Alex Kirilloff hit a triple off the wall in right-center field in his first at bat of the day. He went 1-for-4 in the game, but he has been great in the season’s first week. He is now hitting .409 with an 1.122 OPS. Summary: It’s probably not good when the highlight of the game was Joe Mauer being introduced to catch the game’s ceremonial first pitch from Dick Bremer. What’s Next? First, the team will likely go home, flush this loss, and just rest and relax. After being in Florida for spring training since February, and then heading to Kansas City and Milwaukee, most of the team got to their living quarters on Wednesday night for the first time. With the early start on Thursday for Opening Day, the players (and the traveling media!) are looking forward to Friday’s off day. First to relax, but also to situate their lives and their living arrangements. On Saturday, the Minnesota Twins will turn the ball over to Joe Ryan (1.69 ERA) for his second start of the season. Cleveland will counter with Carlos Carrasco (5.40 ERA). Both will be looking for their first win of the season. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN TUE WED THU FRI TOT Funderburk 34 0 0 39 0 73 Duarte 31 0 25 0 0 56 Sands 22 0 0 22 0 44 Alcala 0 39 0 0 0 39 Jackson 13 24 0 0 0 37 Okert 0 0 20 0 0 20 Jax 0 0 18 0 0 18 Stewart 0 0 17 0 0 17 View full article

Terry Jorgensen was born on September 2, 1966, in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. After a stellar athletic career at Luxemburg-Casco High School, he stayed close to home and attended Division III powerhouse, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He helped the team to a national championship in 1985. In 1987, the 6-4 infielder was the second round draft pick of the Twins. He spent that summer with the Twins Low-A affiliate in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He hit .315 with 17 doubles and seven home runs in 67 games. The next season, he was pushed to Double-A Orlando. In 1988, he played in 135 games and hit .246 with 27 doubles and three home runs. He stayed there for the 1989 season. In 135 games, he hit .263 with 27 doubles, five triples, and 13 home runs. He also drove in 101 runs and nearly had as many walks as strikeouts. That earned him his first promotion to the big leagues. He had four hits in 23 at-bats. Then he had to show some patience. He spent the entire 1990 season in Triple-A Portland and hit 28 doubles and 10 homers. He spent the entire 1991 season with Portland and hit .298 with 29 doubles and 11 home runs. In 1992, he hit .294 with 32 doubles and 14 home runs. In September, he was again called up to the Twins. In his first game back (9/9), he went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. In 22 games, he hit .310 with a double. In 1993, he played a career-high 59 games with the Twins and hit .224 with seven doubles and a home run. He joined the Marlines organization in 1994 and spent the season at Double-A. Then in 1995, he moved up to their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. In 1996, he played in 27 games for Green Bay in the independent Prairie League. In researching, I reached out to Jorgensen and learned the following. After pro ball, he went back to Oshkosh and received his bachelor's degree. He worked a few "odds and end jobs." After he graduated, he got a call from the principal of his hometown school, who asked if he was interested in teaching there because there was a Physical Education job open. He said/wrote, "Never thought I would return to the Luxemburg-Casco school district, but here I am, 26 years later." In his time there, he was the varsity baseball coach for 13 years. He also has been an assistant in a variety of sports including baseball, softball, boys and girls basketball, and golf. He no longer coaches so that he can watch his son and daughter play at the college level at their sports. He said that he is unlikely to coach again and is looking forward to retirement in a few years. View full player